An Internet service provider (abbr. ISP, also called Internet access provider or IAP) is a business or organization that provides consumers or businesses access to the Internet and related services. In the past, most ISPs were run by the phone companies. Now, ISPs can be started by just about any individual or group with sufficient money and expertise. In addition to Internet access via various technologies such as dial-up and DSL, they may provide a combination of services including Internet transit, domain name registration and hosting, web hosting, and colocation.
ISP Connection Options
ISPs employ a range of technologies to enable consumers to connect to their network. For "home users", the most popular options include dial-up, DSL (typically ADSL), Broadband wireless access, Cable modem, and ISDN (typically BRI). For customers who have more demanding requirements, such as medium-to-large businesses, or other ISPs, DSL (often SHDSL or ADSL), Ethernet, Metro Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet, Frame Relay, ISDN (BRI or PRI), ATM, satellite Internet access and SONET are more likely. With the increasing popularity of downloading music and online video and the general demand for faster page loads, higher bandwidth connections are becoming more popular.
Typical Home User Connection
- Dial-up
- DSL
- Broadband wireless access
- Cable modem
- ISDN
- DSL
- SHDSL
- Ethernet technologies
Just as their customers pay them for Internet access, ISPs themselves pay upstream ISPs for Internet access. In the simplest case, a single connection is established to an upstream ISP using one of the technologies described above, and the ISP uses this connection to send or receive any data to or from parts of the Internet beyond its own network; in turn, the upstream ISP uses its own upstream connection, or connections to its other customers (usually other ISPs) to allow the data to travel from source to destination.
In reality, the situation is often more complicated. For example, ISPs with more than one point of presence (PoP) may have separate connections to an upstream ISP at multiple PoPs, or they may be customers of multiple upstream ISPs and have connections to each one at one or more of their PoPs. ISPs may engage in peering, where multiple ISPs interconnect with one another at a peering point or Internet exchange point (IX), allowing the routing of data between their networks, without charging one another for that data - data that would otherwise have passed through their upstream ISPs, incurring charges from the upstream ISP. ISPs that require no upstream, and have only customers and/or peers, are called Tier 1 ISPs, indicating their status as ISPs at the top of the Internet hierarchy. Routers, switches, Internet routing protocols, and the expertise of network administrators all have a role to play in ensuring that data follows the best available route and that ISPs can "see" one another on the Internet.
Virtual ISP
A Virtual ISP (vISP) purchases services from another ISP (sometimes called a wholesale ISP or similar within this context) that allow the vISP's customers to access the Internet via one or more point of presence (PoPs) that are owned and operated by the wholesale ISP. There are various models for the delivery of this type of service, for example, the wholesale ISP could provide network access to end users via its dial-up modem PoPs or DSLAMs installed in telephone exchanges, and route, switch, and/or tunnel the end user traffic to the vISP's network, whereupon they may route the traffic toward its destination. In another model, the vISP does not route any end user traffic, and needs only provide AAA (Authentication, Authorization and Accounting) functions, as well as any "value-add" services like email or web hosting. Any given ISP may use their own PoPs to deliver one service, and use a vISP model to deliver another service, or, use a combination to deliver a service in different areas. The service provided by a wholesale ISP in a vISP model is distinct from that of an upstream ISP, even though in some cases, they may both be one and the same company. The former provides connectivity from the end user's premises to the Internet or to the end user's ISP, the latter provides connectivity from the end user's ISP to all or parts of the rest of the Internet.
A vISP can also refer to a completely automated white label service offered to anyone at no cost or for a minimal set-up fee. The actual ISP providing the service generates revenue from the calls and may also share a percentage of that revenue with the owner of the vISP. All technical aspects are dealt with leaving the owner of vISP with the task of promoting the service. This sort of service is however declining due to the popularity of unmetered internet access also known as flatrate.
Related Services
1)Broadband Access
- Fixed wireless access
- Cable
- Triple play
- Web hosting service
- E-mail hosting service
- DNS hosting service
Internet Service Providers Association in India
The federal government of India ended the monopoly of VSNL over provision of Internet services with effect from October 7, 1998. Today, there are more than 200 private sector ISPs (Internet Service Providers) either already active or about to start operations. Satyam Infoway Ltd. is the first private sector ISP in India.
There is no bar on the number of companies which will be given licences and licence fees is virtually non-existent – none for the first five years and a mere Rs. 10 for the next 10 years. The equity for foreign investment has been kept at 49 per cent as is the norm with other telecom services opened to the private sector.
The interested companies are free to fix their tariff and there is no insistence on coverage. E-mail companies have been allowed to automatically become Internet Service Providers (ISPs). However, pending a more defined policy, 'conditional licences' will be given to companies which have defaulted on licence fees in other services such as cellular, radio paging and basic phone services.
The present policy is not very different from the previous one prepared by a committee headed by Dr. Bimal Jalan and announced by a previous government. The policy based on Dr. Jalan Committee recommendations was announced on January 15, 1998. But barely a month later, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) invalidated the Internet licensing policy on grounds that its recommendations on the terms and conditions of licences were not obtained. The DoT filed an appeal in the Delhi High Court, which on July 16 upheld its appeal. The case is now (as at November 29, 1998) pending before a multi-member bench, but its verdit is unlikely to affect the overall progress of matters in this field.
The few points of departure from the Dr. Jalan report are a result of inputs provided by the national task force on information technology, the TRAI and the Law Ministry where the policy was held up for seven weeks. As compared to the previous policy, the licence period has been extended from 10 years to 15 years and the fees to be paid from the sixth year onwards has been fixed at Re. 1 per year per licensee. The Government was in favour of waiving licence fees altogether instead of the initial period of five years but was compelled to fix a token amount of Re. 1 following objections from the Law Ministry.
Three categories of ISPs have been specified. In the category A, licences are given on an all-India basis, under the second category fall the 20 territorial circles and the four metro telephone systems of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Calcutta as well as Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Pune. Any secondary switching area (equivalent to a district) form a separate category C service area with the exception of the eight cities defined in B category. The security deposit has been fixed at Rs. 2 crores, Rs. 20 lakhs and Rs. 3 lakhs (note: 1 lakh=100,000, 1 crore=100 lakhs) respectively.
Private companies have been allowed to establish their own gateways in addition to using the gateways of DoT, VSNL or authorised public/government organisations. But this concept is only in principle because the Government has set up an inter-ministerial committee which will first go into security-related issues before granting permission to ISPs to set up alternate international gateways. Till then subscribers to ISPs will have to grapple with the problem of congestion facing existing Internet subscribers unless the VSNL dramatically increases the number of access nodes.
In addition to leasing transmission links from the DoT, ISPs are also allowed to utilise the infrastructure planned to be set up by the railways, State Electricity Boards, Power Grid Corporation etc. A point of discord might arise over the lease charges with the DoT likely to insist that these organisations should charge the same amount as DoT. The railways is planning two optical fibre-based networks between Chennai and Mumbai and Delhi and Mumbai with branches at a number of places.
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in India
There are in all 183 operating Internet Service Providers in India. Of them 41* ISPs (listed below) have all-status. The remaining are particular state-pacific.
ISPs having all-India licence include:
- BSNL
- CMC
- RPG Infotech
- Essel Shyam Communications
- Sify
- Siti Cable Network
- Gateway Systems (India)
- World Phone Internet Services
- VSNL
- Guj Info Petro
- Hughes Escorts Communications
- Astro India Networks
- Reliance
- Primus Telecommunications India
- ERNET India
- RailTel Corporation
- Data Infosys
- GTL
- Jumpp India
- L&T Finance
- HCL
- Infinet
- Primenet Global
- Tata Internet Services
- Tata Power Broadband
- Bharti Infotel
- Pacific Internet India
- In2Cable (India)
- Reliance Engineering Associates
- BG Broad India
- Swiftmail Communications
- Estel Communication
- Bharti Aquanet
- Trak Online Net India
- Spectra Net
- Reach Network India
- i2i Enterprise
- Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra)
- Comsat Max
- Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers Corporation
- HCL Comnet Systems and Services
- Harthway Cable